CHEESE OF THE WEEK: Lamb Chopper is sweet, sheep's milk Gouda

Aimee Blume / Special to The Courier & Press
Lamb Chopper is a sheep’s milk Gouda-style cheese made in the Netherlands for Cypress Grove. It is buttery-sweet and has more character than cows’ milk Goudas.

Cheese Lamb Chopper

Lamb Chopper is a Gouda-style cheese made in the Netherlands for Cypress Grove Chevre, located in Northern California. Lamb Chopper is made from Dutch sheep’s milk and Dutch cultures.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Mary Keehn, founder of Cypress Grove, decided to have the cheese manufactured in Holland because they have plenty of organic sheep’s milk, which is difficult to find in the States. Also, producing and aging the cheese alongside Cypress Grove’s surface-ripened goat cheeses (such as the amazing Humboldt Fog, possibly the greatest cheese ever invented) would likely result in contamination of the Gouda-style cheese by the wrong flora.

Like all Goudas, Lamb Chopper has a definite sweet and buttery flavor. It is aged for three months in the Netherlands, then waxed to make the surface impermeable, then shipped and further aged up to six months in California. During this time it develops a slightly darker, butterscotchy outer layer, shading to a creamy smooth, ivory interior.

Despite being made of sheep’s milk, which usually imparts a distinct, barnyard-y flavor, Lamb Chopper does not taste like a sheep cheese. Most sheep cheeses are from Spain or Italy and are firm, rustic and salty. The idea of sheep’s milk in a sweet Gouda is unusual and the result is very good, with more character and piquancy than those made from cow’s milk.

Both Lamb Chopper and its sister cheese, Cypress Grove Midnight Moon, a Gouda-style cheese made with goat’s milk, can be found at Winestyles. They are expensive at about $30 a pound, so they’re best saved for the cheese board where they may be savored alongside fresh fruit, with unflavored crackers or crusty bread.

Pair Lamb Chopper with an unoaked chardonnay, sauvignon blanc or Vouvray. If pairing with beer, brown ale IPA or porter will work. Crisp, tangy apples such as granny smith are a natural complement.

Lamb Chopper Tartine

Source: Adapted from Cypress Grove

Serves: 4—6

INGREDIENTS

6-8 ounces Lamb Chopper, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons fresh basil, chiffonade

4 tablespoons quince paste or pear preserves

4-6 large slices rustic bread

1/4 cup butter, melted

salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2 Brush one side of each slice of bread with melted butter and place in oven for 10 minutes.

3 When bread is slightly brown and toasty, spread quince paste evenly to the outer edges of the bread. Add Lamb Chopper and return the bread to the oven for another 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted.

4 Remove bread from the oven, sprinkle with basil and salt and pepper. Serve warm.